May 14, 2010

An irreparable father-son bond triggers a study in bleak cityscapes and pervasive intergenerational malaise in “Chongqing Blues.” Initially as glum as its title would suggest, Wang Xiaoshuai’s poignant if plodding ninth feature — which follows an absentee father trying to glean information about the dead son he never knew — eventually opens up with a handful of quietly affecting moments, but elsewhere bogs down in psychodramatic flashbacks that ultimately sentimentalize as much as they clarify. http://hkmdb.com/news/?p=5453

A strong performance by Wang Xueqi as the father provides emotional ballast but fails to make up for the glacial pacing of the drama; and although there are some effective emotional tugs and an evocative use of the film’s dirty industrial city setting, the audience’s investment in the slowbuild structure is never paid back in full. http://hkmdb.com/news/?p=5456

Tasty, full of black humour, but finally upended by the mannerist games it plays so ably, erotic thrillerThe Housemaid is a smart but shallow remake of Kim Ki-young’s cult 1960 Korean movie of the same name.

Sandcastle marks a quietly assured debut feature from writer/director Boo Junfeng. The blending of guilty family secrets and the ghosts of Singapore’s recent past create an involving narrative that is related with tenderhearted understatement.

A young mother understandably wants to get off a remote island filled with violent and misogynistic miscreants and slave-driving old hags in “Bedevilled,” a confused genre hodgepodge that marks the feature debut of Kim Ki-duk’s former assistant director Jang Cheol-soo. Part limpid study of city-country contrasts, part one-sickle-kills-all revenge fantasy, Jang’s film drifts from one genre to another without ever fully coming into its own.

First up for Chan himself is the martial arts film “Drunken Master 1945.” Though neither a remake nor sequel to Chan’s 1978 hit “Drunken Master,” the new film is intended to capture the martial arts spirit that the earlier film also celebrated.

Beginning in August, Steve Woo will direct “The Break-Up Artist,” a Chinese Mandarin-language romantic comedy about a young woman who runs an agency that helps couples break up.

Rumor Mill: Previously, Edko announced that Tsui Hark would remake a 3D version of New Dragon Inn. No cast has been announced yet. Earlier rumors has Gui Lun-Mei and Ethan Ruan as Tsui Hark’s favorite candidates. A current rumor from an ‘insider’ on the micro-blogosphere has Jet Li, Li Yuchun and Zhou Xun in the new love triangle with filming to begin in September. (HunanTV)